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Location, Location, Location

03-27-2008, 10:16 PM

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']I have copied a letter just received by the chamber of commerce that i am a part of. I guess i am in the right place for the type of business I am in. Is anyone else in a booming area like this? What should I expect in the future given the rate of growth here? Should I be scouting for future help now?[/FONT]

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Kendall County has been big news these past few days! Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran an article, announcing that this county is now the fastest-growing one in the United States. Here is the article on the same topic that was on page 3 of USA Today yesterday. Greg Millen, Board President of the Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce, is quoted further into the story, which I’ve also posted on the front page of our Chamber web site, [/FONT][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']www.yorkvillechamber.org[/FONT][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']:[/FONT]

YORKVILLE, Ill. — David Splayt is part of a population explosion that has made Kendall County the fastest-growing county in the USA.

Splayt, his wife, Cindy, and their two children moved into a four-bedroom house here in 2005. They paid about the same price in a development called Windett Ridge as they got for their old home in Hickory Hills, a Chicago suburb. They doubled their square footage and doubled their distance from downtown Chicago, from 30 miles to 60.

The Splayts' home was the 18th house in the subdivision; there are now five times as many. Splayt, 41, who works for AT&T, says this city of 15,204 — up from 6,189 in 2000 — keeps getting better. "The schools are good, the kids are happy, there are good youth programs, lots of new restaurants," he says.

Kendall County's rapid growth doesn't surprise him. "People are catching on to the secret," he says.

The secret is the small-town atmosphere that for decades has enticed people to move farther and farther from big cities: space, simplicity and reasonably priced homes. Developments here advertise $170,000 town homes, $250,000 houses — much cheaper than comparable properties in Chicago and closer-in suburbs.

Kendall County, which includes a small part of Joliet, added 42,258 people from 2000 to 2007, the Census Bureau says. The 77.5% increase put the population at 96,818 and edged out Flagler County, Fla., as the fastest-growing county with 10,000 or more people.

Yorkville and other Kendall County communities are emblematic of an appealing lifestyle, but they also exemplify the challenges that accompany an influx of newcomers. There are no hospitals in the county. There's no public transportation. Most roads have just two lanes. In Yorkville, the county seat, there's one bridge over the Fox River, which bisects the city. Everyone complains about the traffic.
Managing growth

There's also a feeling among some residents that as the rural atmosphere of their communities changes, they are losing what they love most about their hometowns.

"The growth is heading our way and we don't like it," says Gary Fruland, mayor of Newark, where the population has doubled to 1,000 since his childhood. The town's water tower and sewer system can't serve any more people, he says. Neighbors such as Yorkville "are just exploding and I think they're a little bit out of control," he says.

Yorkville Mayor Valerie Burd says debate about saving the city was raging when she moved here 21 years ago. "Downtown was dying, stores were closing," she says. Residents realized that "if things don't change, the whole town is dying."

When housing developers started buying land, officials tried to anticipate Yorkville's future needs. They required developers to install water towers and oversized water mains. Now the water system can accommodate 30,000 residents, twice the current population.

Yorkville created a community development department to manage growth and an economic development corporation to attract retailers and employers to share the tax burden. Boundary agreements with neighboring towns were negotiated to control development standards. The city bought land for parks and bike trails. City government grew with the population: In 1998, there were 34 full-time employees. Now there are 92.

The ailing economy has slowed housing construction, giving the city time to focus on commercial development and streets. Still, 25 residential projects are at various stages of development. "That's a slowdown," Burd says.

County government also is trying to keep up with the demands of a growing population. The county raised sales taxes twice to help pay for improvements to transportation and public safety and residents twice approved property-tax referendums to protect open spaces. The county jail's capacity was 14 in 1992 and is now about 200, says John Church, chairman of the Kendall County Board. The courthouse, which opened in 1997, is undergoing a $30 million expansion.

A few years ago, county residents debated how they could stop growth, Church says. "Now it's, 'How do we deal with it?' "

Dealing with it is "a very delicate process," says Brian LeClercq, village president of Oswego, which grew from about 13,000 people in 2000 to 28,000 now. "We need to make it happen on our terms."
'Like the rural feeling'

Thirteen miles south of Yorkville in Lisbon, an unincorporated town of about 270 people, there's little appetite for growth — and little evidence of it, except for the constant stream of trucks hauling rock from nearby quarries to construction sites elsewhere in Kendall County.

Patty Williamson, 49, says the effects of Kendall County's population spurt are felt at the hospital in Morris, where she works as an emergency room nurse. "It's overwhelmed anymore," she says.

Williamson grew up on a 300-acre farm a half-mile from Lisbon that's operated by her father and owned by him and his brothers. They were approached by a developer who wanted to build 600 townhomes on it. The offer was tempting to some of the farm's owners, but she was relieved when it fell through. "I like the rural feeling here and I don't want it to change," she says.

Randy Nelson, 44, a minister at Lisbon Bethlehem Lutheran Church, says the town already is being affected in subtle ways. His congregation has grown a bit and traffic congestion forces residents to use back roads to get around. Nelson expects Lisbon will eventually be discovered by newcomers. "It's a great place to live and it would be selfish to not want people to share it," he says.

Greg Millen, president of the Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce, shares that view. His company, Saint Joseph Cabinetry & Designs, is moving from downtown to a new building. He's forming a cooperative with small businesses to share costs. "A lot of times people resist change," Millen says, "but you've got to embrace it, be creative, find ways to make communities stronger." [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Bobbi BurgstoneExecutive DirectorYorkville Area Chamber of Commerce [/FONT]

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']I have copied a letter just received by the chamber of commerce that i am a part of. I guess i am in the right place for the type of business I am in. Is anyone else in a booming area like this? What should I expect in the future given the rate of growth here? Should I be scouting for future help now?[/font]

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Kendall County has been big news these past few days! Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran an article, announcing that this county is now the fastest-growing one in the United States. Here is the article on the same topic that was on page 3 of USA Today yesterday. Greg Millen, Board President of the Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce, is quoted further into the story, which I’ve also posted on the front page of our Chamber web site, [/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']www.yorkvillechamber.org[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']:[/font]

YORKVILLE, Ill. — David Splayt is part of a population explosion that has made Kendall County the fastest-growing county in the USA.

Splayt, his wife, Cindy, and their two children moved into a four-bedroom house here in 2005. They paid about the same price in a development called Windett Ridge as they got for their old home in Hickory Hills, a Chicago suburb. They doubled their square footage and doubled their distance from downtown Chicago, from 30 miles to 60.

The Splayts' home was the 18th house in the subdivision; there are now five times as many. Splayt, 41, who works for AT&T, says this city of 15,204 — up from 6,189 in 2000 — keeps getting better. "The schools are good, the kids are happy, there are good youth programs, lots of new restaurants," he says.

Kendall County's rapid growth doesn't surprise him. "People are catching on to the secret," he says.

The secret is the small-town atmosphere that for decades has enticed people to move farther and farther from big cities: space, simplicity and reasonably priced homes. Developments here advertise $170,000 town homes, $250,000 houses — much cheaper than comparable properties in Chicago and closer-in suburbs.

Kendall County, which includes a small part of Joliet, added 42,258 people from 2000 to 2007, the Census Bureau says. The 77.5% increase put the population at 96,818 and edged out Flagler County, Fla., as the fastest-growing county with 10,000 or more people.

Yorkville and other Kendall County communities are emblematic of an appealing lifestyle, but they also exemplify the challenges that accompany an influx of newcomers. There are no hospitals in the county. There's no public transportation. Most roads have just two lanes. In Yorkville, the county seat, there's one bridge over the Fox River, which bisects the city. Everyone complains about the traffic.
Managing growth

There's also a feeling among some residents that as the rural atmosphere of their communities changes, they are losing what they love most about their hometowns.

"The growth is heading our way and we don't like it," says Gary Fruland, mayor of Newark, where the population has doubled to 1,000 since his childhood. The town's water tower and sewer system can't serve any more people, he says. Neighbors such as Yorkville "are just exploding and I think they're a little bit out of control," he says.

Yorkville Mayor Valerie Burd says debate about saving the city was raging when she moved here 21 years ago. "Downtown was dying, stores were closing," she says. Residents realized that "if things don't change, the whole town is dying."

When housing developers started buying land, officials tried to anticipate Yorkville's future needs. They required developers to install water towers and oversized water mains. Now the water system can accommodate 30,000 residents, twice the current population.

Yorkville created a community development department to manage growth and an economic development corporation to attract retailers and employers to share the tax burden. Boundary agreements with neighboring towns were negotiated to control development standards. The city bought land for parks and bike trails. City government grew with the population: In 1998, there were 34 full-time employees. Now there are 92.

The ailing economy has slowed housing construction, giving the city time to focus on commercial development and streets. Still, 25 residential projects are at various stages of development. "That's a slowdown," Burd says.

County government also is trying to keep up with the demands of a growing population. The county raised sales taxes twice to help pay for improvements to transportation and public safety and residents twice approved property-tax referendums to protect open spaces. The county jail's capacity was 14 in 1992 and is now about 200, says John Church, chairman of the Kendall County Board. The courthouse, which opened in 1997, is undergoing a $30 million expansion.

A few years ago, county residents debated how they could stop growth, Church says. "Now it's, 'How do we deal with it?' "

Dealing with it is "a very delicate process," says Brian LeClercq, village president of Oswego, which grew from about 13,000 people in 2000 to 28,000 now. "We need to make it happen on our terms."
'Like the rural feeling'

Thirteen miles south of Yorkville in Lisbon, an unincorporated town of about 270 people, there's little appetite for growth — and little evidence of it, except for the constant stream of trucks hauling rock from nearby quarries to construction sites elsewhere in Kendall County.

Patty Williamson, 49, says the effects of Kendall County's population spurt are felt at the hospital in Morris, where she works as an emergency room nurse. "It's overwhelmed anymore," she says.

Williamson grew up on a 300-acre farm a half-mile from Lisbon that's operated by her father and owned by him and his brothers. They were approached by a developer who wanted to build 600 townhomes on it. The offer was tempting to some of the farm's owners, but she was relieved when it fell through. "I like the rural feeling here and I don't want it to change," she says.

Randy Nelson, 44, a minister at Lisbon Bethlehem Lutheran Church, says the town already is being affected in subtle ways. His congregation has grown a bit and traffic congestion forces residents to use back roads to get around. Nelson expects Lisbon will eventually be discovered by newcomers. "It's a great place to live and it would be selfish to not want people to share it," he says.

Greg Millen, president of the Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce, shares that view. His company, Saint Joseph Cabinetry & Designs, is moving from downtown to a new building. He's forming a cooperative with small businesses to share costs. "A lot of times people resist change," Millen says, "but you've got to embrace it, be creative, find ways to make communities stronger." [/font]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Bobbi BurgstoneExecutive DirectorYorkville Area Chamber of Commerce [/font]

[/quote

after reading that article makes me want set up shop there and by a house right next to you...... No jr. no boom here,,, housing market took a nose dive. cities and towns are over budget... price of grocery's up,, gas,, ect....

make out a business plan and you'll now when to take on additional help.

Comment

The trick...not to go racing to the counties where the population is, or recently was booming.The trick is to race to the counties where the population was booming 15+ years ago.I know a fella that situated his shop based on that premise alone...he makes a killing in service, repair, replacements & remodels.